On principle, heat pumps are operated with a fluid, which evaporates at low pressure when heat is supplied and which condensates again after the compression at a higher pressure when heat is supplied. Heat can thus be transferred from the evaporation zone to the condensation zone by means of mechanical work in the form of the pressure changes. In the case of adsorption heat pumps, the pressure differences are reached in that an adsorbent adsorbs the fluid at a lower pressure and desorbs it at a higher pressure. In response to the desorption, heat is supplied to the adsorbent at a high temperature level and in response to the adsorption, heat is removed from the adsorbent at a low temperature level. The pressure differences required for the heat pump can thus be reached by heating and cooling the adsorbent. No mechanical energy, but thermal energy is thus used, in order to operate the heat pump. This process cannot be carried out continuously, because the adsorbent is usually a solid, which must remain in place. This is why adsorption heat pumps are operated discontinuously and cyclically change between adsorption and desorption.
The temperature of the sorption zone is thereby alternately controlled by means of a high temperature heat transfer medium and by means of a medium temperature heat transfer medium, so that the desorbent changes between adsorption and desorption in the sorption zone. For switching between adsorption and desorption, it is known from the prior art to use rotary valves. Such rotary valves are known for example from DE 10 2009 036 545 A1 and from DE 10 2014 211 703 A1. Such rotary valves have the disadvantage that a scaling of the adsorption heat pump is not possible, because the rotary valves are designed for a fixed number of sorption modules.
An adsorption heat pump is known from DE 10 2011 003 664 A1, which has independent valves, in order to switch between the high temperature heat transfer medium and the medium temperature heat transfer medium. In the case of this embodiment, the option of recovering heat, which was expended in response to heating the sorption zone, is very limited.